Board Level Connectivity

All of the connections in advanced electronic circuits are not made at the pc board level. To connect other components or portions of a system or external products, additional connections are required. Making these connections to the pc board requires unique design connectors. In some cases, the connectors attach to the board using surface mount technology (SMT). Some of these connectors allow a push-in direct connection of wires to the pc board, enable high pin count board-to-board connections for stacking more than one circuit board or provide a high-speed digital data link to external circuits. Materials provide a critical portion of these connectors to allow wave soldering during assembly and reliable, easy connections in service.

Board-to-Board Surface Mount Connector

Advanced Interconnections Corp. B2B SMT connectors enable high I/O board stacking. Available in a 500-position footprint on 1.27 mm pitch, the newest member of the series has a standard mated height of 6.00 mm. Screw-machined terminals with multi-finger contacts and an exclusive solder ball terminal design, coupled with a precision-molded high-temperature Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) insulator, provide a contact system suited for blind mating applications. For a 6 mm, 300-position unit, the insertion force averages 50 gm per pin and the extraction force averages 45 gm per pin. A current rating of 3A per pin allows the use of more contacts for data/signal transfer by requiring fewer pins for power and ground. Typical applications include telecom switches, servers, laptop PCs, processors, medical equipment and military defense systems.

http://rbi.ims.ca/5406-544

Push-in Direct Connection Terminals

The LSF-SMT push-in direct connection PC board terminals from Weidmuller can reduce wiring time by up to 50 percent. Equipped with two soldering pins that provide the connection to the printed circuit board, the unit's spring-action release button opens a clamp for inserting flexible or solid core wires. The contact and soldering zone surfaces of the 1.5 or 3.5 mm length pins are made from pure tin. Made from Liquid Crystal Polymer with fiberglass reinforcement, the push-in terminals are heat-resistant and halogen-free providing dimensional stability for use in reflow and wave soldering processes. The terminals are available in 3.5/3.81, 5.00/5.08 and 7.50/7.62 mm pitches, with horizontal (90 degree), vertical (180 degree) and 135 degree wire entry angles. With pole range from 2 to 8 or 24 poles (3.5/3.81 mm), the units are available in tape-on-reel packaging for SMT reflow soldering processes.

http://rbi.ims.ca/5406-543

Firewire Plug and Socket

Keystone Electronics Corp.'s FireWire plugs and sockets add the hi-speed digital connectivity of IEEE 1394 to pc boards. Available in horizontal and vertical mounting styles for surface mount and thru-hole designs, the units have tin lead-plated solder tails for easy solderability and gold-plated contacts for low-contact resistance and high reliability. A modular design approach allows easy and fast assembly of components with integrated strain reliefs that crimp to the wire's insulation and snap-in pc tails to hold connectors in position for wave soldering. The units can be used to provide a universal connection between digital cameras, VCRs, camcorders and players, as well as computers, printers, Internet and more.

http://rbi.ims.ca/5406-545